Air projected ball game



June 9, 1964 D. E. ENGLE 3,136,548

AIR PROJECTED BALL. GAME Filed Dec. 27, 1961 INVENTOR DONALD E [/vau' ORNEY United States Patent 3,136,548 AIR PROJECTED BALL GAME Donald E. Engle, 3964 Dellview, St. Paul 12, Minn. Filed Dec. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 162,428 8 Claims. (Cl. 273-123) This invention relates to an improvement in a game, and deals particularly with a game in which light weight balls are propelled by air over a game table.

An object of the present invention resides in the provision of a game including a game table which is preferably rotatably supported upon a central support and which is provided with a geometrical arrangement of apertures. The apertures through the game table are of somewhat lesser diameter than the light weight balls which are used as projectiles in the play of the game. The halls are similar in form to those used in playing ping pong and thus may be readily lifted from the table by a blast of air. The game also includes bent or hook shaped straws or tubes through which a blast of air may be blown by the players to propel the ball in a desired direction. The blow pipes are so formed that they may be inserted through one aperture to position the end of the blow pipe beneath the ball in an adjoining aperture so that by blowing through the blow pipe, the ball may be propelled in a desired direction.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a game board mounted upon a centrally located hollow stand having open upper and lower ends, the open upper end extending through the game board to provide a ball-receiving aperture. A purpose of the game is to propel the balls one at a time into this central aperture where they are held confined by the stand until the game board and stand is lifted from the supporting table.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a game of the type described having pockets or indentations in the game board in interspersed relation to the apertures. These indentations form pockets into which the balls may roll and thus form traps for the balls from which the balls cannot be propelled by air. It is an object of the game to propel the balls one at a time from the apertures at the periphery of the game board to the central aperture in the game board without causing the balls to roll from the edge of the game board or into any of the pockets.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a game which can be produced at relatively low cost, and which requires patience and skill to play.

These and other objects and novel features of the present invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification;

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the game board showing the general arrangement thereof.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the same.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view through the central portion of the game board and support.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view through a portion of the game board showing the manner in which the balls or projectiles can be moved by means of a curved blow pipe.

In general, the game includes a game table which is indicated in general by the numeral and which is rotatably supported upon a base which is indicated in general by the numeral 11. The game board or table 10 comprises a square sheet of wood, fiber, plastic or other suitable material which is divided into four equal sections by the intersecting lines 12 and 13, or by coloring the surface of the board with rectangles of different colors. The surface of the board 10 is provided with twelve equally spaced rows of apertures, the apertures being similarly Patented June 9, 1964 ice arranged from each edge of the board toward the center thereof. For the purposes of description, the rows will be described as being parallel to the opposed edges 14 of the square game board, the outer rows 15 which are nearest to the edges 14 being comprised of twelve equally spaced apertures 16. The next rows of apertures which are identified by the numeral 17 includes ten apertures 16 and two indentations 19. The centers of the apertures 16 and indentations 19 are equally spaced, and the indentations take the place of the second apertures in the row from the center line 13.

The third rows of apertures 20 from the edges 14 also include ten apertures 16 and two indentations 21. The indentations 21 and the apertures 16 have their centers equally spaced throughout the length of the row and the indentations are equally spaced on opposite sides of the center line 13, and take the place of the fourth apertures from the center line on each side of the center.

The fifth row of apertures 22 from each edge 14 comprise twelve equally spaced apertures 16 and is therefore similar to the outer rows 15 of apertures.

The next row of apertures 23 from the side edges 14 are composed of eight apertures 16 and four indentations 24. The indentations 24 take the place of the second apertures from the center line 13 and the fifth aperture from the center line 13.

The sixth rows of apertures from the edges 14, or the innermost two rows 25 comprise ten equally spaced apertures 16 from the outer edges of the rows. The center two apertures of each of these rows are omitted due to the fact that a center aperture 27 of relatively large diameter is provided at the center of the board. While the rows of apertures have been defined as being parallel to the edges 14, the same description could be provided to describe the rows as parallel to the edges 29. The various indentations such as 19, 29, and 24 are similar in form and are merely rounded shallow indentations of somewhat larger radius than the balls such as 30 so as to receive and hold the balls. The purpose in giving the vari ous indentations different numbers is only to better describe their location.

The base 11 comprises a frusto-conical shell 31 having an inwardly extending flange 32 at its small diameter end. The flange 32 connects the wall 31 with a cylindrical sleeve 33 which extends through the aperture 27. The upper end of the sleeve 33 is preferably flanged outwardly as indicated at' 34 to overlie the upper surface of the game board. If desired, the upper surface of the game board may be notched so that the flanged end 34 is on the plane of the board surface, but the arrangement illustrated makes the game somewhat more diflicult as it is necessary for the ball to pass over the flange in order to enter the base 11.

The game is played with J-shaped blow pipes or tubes 35 including a generally straight elongated shank 36 having a curved lower end 37. The radius of curvature of the end 37 is such as to permit the tube to pass downwardly through one aperture 16 and beneath the ball 30 resting in the next adjoining aperture of a row. At the start of the game, when the balls are positioned in the outermost rows, the end 37 of the tube 35 may be positioned beneath the edge of the board.

By properly positioning the tube 35, and blowing through the tube, a blast of air may be directed against the under surface of the ball 30 tending to move the ball in a desired direction. Due to the fact that the curved extremity of the tube is beneath the surface of the game board, and cannot be seen by the players, considerable care must be exerted in positioning the blow pipe so that the air is directed in the proper direction. If the blast of air is strong, the ball will be blown out of contact with the game board and will bounce upon striking the game board surface and if the ball is not moved with extreme care, it will strike the edge. of an aperture upon landing and will bounce inone direction or another. As a result, it is possible for a player to attain considerable skill in moving the ball from one position to another. It is even possible to blow the ball from the outermost row of holes into the hollow base in one operation, but if the shot is missed, there is a good likelihood of causing the by the use of the blow pipe 35 to advance the balls from I the outer periphery of the game board through the central opening and into the base 11.

In accordance with the patent statutes, I have described the principles of construction and operation of my improvement in a game, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A game including,

a game board having a series of vertical apertures therethrough,

a light weight ball adapted to extend into, but not through, said apertures, and

a substantially J-shaped blow pipe having an end designed to extend through one said aperture and to terminate beneath an adjacent aperture, whereby a blast of air through said pipe may be exerted against the undersurface of a ball in an adjacent aperture.

2. A game including a game board having a series of equally spaced vertical apertures therethrough,

a light weight ball adapted to extend into, but not through, said apertures, and

a substantially J-shaped blow pipe having an angularly extending end adapted to extend through one aperture and to terminate beneath a ball in an adjacent aper- In general, however, the purpose of the game is 4 ture, whereby a blast of air through said pipe may be exerted against the undersurface of a ball in an adjacent aperture.

3. The structure of claim 2 and including a series of ball receiving pockets between said apertures in said game board.

4. A game including,

a game board including a series of pockets therein in spaced relation,

certain of said pockets extending vertically through said game board,

a light weight ball adapted to extend into, but not through, said certain pockets, and,

a substantially J-shaped blow pipe adapted to extend through said certain pockets, and to terminate beneath a ball positioned in an adjacent certain pocket, whereby a blast of air through said blow pipe may be exerted against the undersurface of a ball in an adjacent certain pocket.

5. The structure of claim 4 and in which the others of said pockets comprise indentations which do not extend through said game board.

6. A game including,

a game board having a series of spaced vertical apertures extending therethrough,

a base supporting said game board located centrally thereof,

said game board including a central aperture communicating with said base,

a light weight ball engageable into, but not through,

said apertures, and

a substantially J-shaped blow pipe having an end extendable through an aperture and terminating beneath another aperture, whereby a blast of air through said blow pipe may be directed against the undersurface of a ball in another aperture.

7. The structure of claim 6 and including a series of pockets in-the upper surface of said game board into which said ball may roll, said pockets being imperforate.

8. The structure of claim 6 and in which said game board is rotatably supported on said base.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 479,569 McConaughy July 26, 1892 2,429,344 Cintron Oct. 21, 1947 2,850,283 Lemelson Sept. 2, 1958 3,038,725 Stewart et al. June 12, 1962 

1. A GAME INCLUDING, A GAME BOARD HAVING A SERIES OF VERTICAL APERTURES THERETHROUGH, A LIGHT WEIGHT BALL ADAPTED TO EXTEND INTO, BUT NOT THROUGH, SAID APERTURES, AND A SUBSTANTIALLY J-SHAPED BLOW PIPE HAVING AN END DESIGNED TO EXTEND THROUGH ONE SAID APERTURE AND TO TERMINATE BENEATH AN ADJACENT APERTURE, WHEREBY A BLAST OF AIR THROUGH SAID PIPE MAY BE EXERTED AGAINST THE UNDERSURFACE OF A BALL IN AN ADJACENT APERTURE. 